In a telephone interview with ITV News, his mother described him as a "complex" person but said "that's all I can say". He was already living here when I moved in. I know him. If I ever needed anything he would come.

British security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with official policy, said hate crimes directed at Muslims have increased almost five-fold in the wake of several attacks in Britain. At 4:46 a.m. the Met stated that its Counter Terrorism Command was investigating the incident.

"We are working hard to protect all communities and the public will see additional officers patrolling across the city and at Muslim places of worship".

Britain has been shaken by a series of deadly attacks in London and Manchester recently, and there has been widespread anger after a fire tore through Grenfell Tower, a 24-story building, killing scores. "We should all stand together against extremists whatever their cause".

The Finsbury Park Mosque was once a notorious hub for radical Islamists but has changed markedly in recent years under new management.

"By God's grace, we were able to protect him from harm", the imam said.

Mr Mahmoud said the van was travelling fast enough to knock people sideways and had driven deliberately into the crowd.

Egypt's Al-Azhar institution, a leading authority of Sunni Islam, called it a "racist, sinful act" and urged "Western countries to take all precautionary measures to limit the phenomenon of Islamophobia".

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Muslim Welfare Centre Toufik Kacimi, relayed to CNN that Mahmoud promptly grabbed the perpetrator as the angry crowd were attempting to assault him.

"We found that a group of people quickly started to collect around him, around the assailant and some tried to hit him either with kicks or punches".

Neighbour Khadijah Sharazi, a woman of Pakistani origin, told local media she was not alarmed by Osborne's behaviour prior to the incident.

When he was eventually arrested and loaded into the back of a police van in handcuffs, he waved to the gathered crowd.

"There was a mob attempt to hurt him, so we pushed people away from him until he was safely taken by police", he added.